Page 29 of Griffin (Stone Brothers #5)

TWENTY-SEVEN

GRIFFIN

C rusoe and Cormac had talked me into putting on a wetsuit and wading out into the icy Pacific for some surfing.

A storm at sea had brought in nice waves, and it had been a while since I sat on my board, so I finally said yes.

When my two cousins teamed up, they could be annoyingly persistent.

Aside from that, I was missing Shay and had nothing to do.

Sitting around all day thinking about her would have been worse.

Now that the asshole was back home, I couldn't stop worrying about her safety, which made for a stressful surf session.

I was out on the water, and my phone was back on the beach.

"This one's yours, Fin," Crusoe said as a swell rolled toward us. "Unless you came out here to just sit and look pretty in your rubber suit," he added.

I lowered myself down and started paddling. The swell rolled under me, and I pushed to my feet. The exhilaration of riding a good wave cleared my head for a second, but as I neared the shore, I made the decision to take the wave all the way in and check my phone.

I hopped off, snatched up the board and headed to our pile of stuff on the beach. A drizzly fog had kept even the heartiest beachcombers off the sand, and we had the whole place to ourselves.

I glanced back toward the water. Cormac was straddling his board.

He had his arms stretched out in a "what the fuck?

" gesture. Crusoe was riding a wave and somersaulted into the water before he got closer to shore.

His board popped up, and his dark head followed.

He let out a whistle that scared off two gulls floating nearby.

"You done already, old man?" he yelled. "We're just getting started!"

I waved him off and stuck my board in the sand.

I walked over to my jeans and took out my phone.

There was a text from Shay. My finger was wet.

I dried it off briskly and swiped open the text.

She'd sent a picture. I stared at it, unsure what I was looking at.

It was a yellow bandana, according to her text.

I read her words several times and then it hit me like a ton of falling fucking bricks.

I sat down in the sand and scrolled through the news to see if there had been any updates on the Roxi Carhill murder.

Her ex-boyfriend had a solid alibi, so it wasn't him.

"Can I call you?" I texted back.

A few minutes and a thousand racing heartbeats later she rang. "I'm fine. Sorry my text was so cryptic. I can't talk right now, but I'll get back to you. I promise." She was talking quietly, and I could hear a washer running in the background.

"I'll be waiting, but I can tell you, I'm ready to head over there right fucking now and take you out of that house."

"Shay!" Tate bellowed from somewhere in the house.

"Gotta go," she said briskly and ended the call.

I walked down to the water's edge. The cousins were straddling their boards and waiting for the next decent set. "I'm leaving. Cru, get a ride home from Mac. I've got to go see Officer Adams."

They both looked at each other and then Crusoe yelled back. "Did you say you're going to see Pugsley?" Pugsley was the unfortunate childhood nickname we'd saddled the local police officer with.

"Yeah, see you later." I peeled out of the wetsuit. The outside air was cold. I quickly pulled on my jeans and shirt and gathered up my board.

I got lucky and found Officer Adams at the station behind a desk. Trayton wasn't exactly a hub of criminal activity, especially with the summer season long behind us. He was surprised to see me walk in.

"Fin, hey, long time no see." He got up from the desk and met me at the counter. A sad looking fern in a gray pot was the only decorative thing in the place. "What's up?"

"This might seem random, but have you been following the influencer murder case?"

"The Roxi Carhill murder? Yeah, it's the only thing that comes up on my news feed.

I guess they went straight to the boyfriend, but he had an alibi.

When you put yourself out there like that, you know, those influencers are like celebrities.

She was a looker too. Probably had a few stalkers and obsessed fans just waiting for the right opportunity. "

"Right. About that." I pulled out my phone.

"My dad has a new office manager. Shay is amazing, but she is married to this total nightmare.

He's abusive. A real dick. He drives a big rig, so he leaves a lot and that has sort of been her salvation.

He also follows pretty influencers. Stares at his phone a lot, apparently. Another thing that helps her survive."

Adams shook his head. "Man, I love putting away assholes like that."

"Yep. Well, he got home early from a job, a week early, and Shay was dumping out his bag to do laundry, and this was in the clothes." I showed him the photo of the bandana. He read the text below it.

Adams looked at me. "Well, shit."

"Yeah. Shit."

"It doesn't necessarily mean anything. Maybe he decided to buy a bandana because sweat was getting in his eyes. Or maybe he found it at a roadside stop or maybe?—"

"Or maybe this asshole killed Roxi Carhill." My words took the color out of his face. Adams had to deal with the occasional brawl, something that usually involved a Stone, or nasty traffic accident, but I was sure he'd never chased down a killer.

Adams rubbed his chin in thought. "Not sure if it's enough to bring him in for questioning. I better call some of the higher-ups and see how to proceed with this. I know they've got a big team on the case. Send me the photo, and I'll get the ball rolling. Is his wife safe?"

"I wouldn't bet on that, but I'm going to find out."

"Fin, don't get yourself in trouble. Let the officials take care of this."

I stared back at him with a raised brow.

Adams shook his head. "Right. I'm talking to a Stone. You know, the name really works for you guys cuz sometimes it's like talking to a stone wall. Just don't get hurt or hurt anybody. And yes, as I said that I realized how stupid that sounded too."

I patted the countertop. "Thanks, Adams." I turned to leave.

"Hey, Fin, this woman, she's more than just an office manager, isn't she?"

"You're getting real good at this detective stuff, Adams. They ought to promote you." That left him with a smile. I walked out to the truck and pulled out my phone. "I need an update, or I'm coming over there." I texted.

"He's out working on his truck right now, so I'm fine. I'll keep you posted."

"I'll be waiting."